St Louis...Here we come!!!!

Brie'el and I are flying to St. Louis Missouri tomorrow. I am a little horrified to be missing Halloween with my little ones. Very lucky to of had Trunk or Treat last week. When I said I would chaperone in May it seemed like a good idea at the time!!!!

I am looking forward to these things.
I will not have to hear the words " I am done!!!"
I will not have to watch Dora or Max and Ruby
I will not be changing diapers
I will not be cutting up anyone's food
I will go to the bathroom by myself
I will read my book
I will watch soccer in peace and quiet
Brie'el does not cry to get her way
I will not need to dress her


Did I say I can read my book?

It will be a soccer weekend, but I am excited to go to a new city and watch Brie'el play teams we have not played before. It will be an adventure......

See you all when I get back!!!

Kyler lost his first tooth today.....

Kyler's bottom tooth has been loose for about a week or two. There was a tooth growing in behind it. I told him that was not good so he needed to start wiggling his tooth. It was odd. The new tooth was growing in, but the old one really was not ready to come out.....

That is until Kyler got a hold of it. Pulling his tooth became Kyler's mission. His goal was to get it loose enough to put a string around it and slam the door. Where does one get these ideas. I asked him "Do you really want to slam the door on your tooth?"

So I am in the car picking up kids at soccer. Kyler needs a tissue. Blood is all over his finger. I hear him say," I really pulled hard that time!!!" Then he says, "MOM!!! You need to Yank the guts of it!!" At this point I have to park and get a tissue. After assessing the situation I realize he is right. The tooth is ready to be pulled. I like pulling teeth.(not sure why) I have never pulled a tooth before it is ready or with a string. Tissue is my friend. You get better grip with tissue in hand. Gave that baby a little pull....

Now Kyler looks like this.....



Kyler is so proud of his lost tooth. I think somehow he knows he is growing up just like the rest of the kids. They don't stay young forever.




This picture is weird. I wanted a picture of his tooth, but it was so small you could not see it. The flash was washing out the tooth. So I put my finger over the flash. This is what it did. I guess I really do have red blood!!!

Pumpkin carving

Having older kids is fabulous. Brie'el Kilean and Bryce decided they wanted to carve pumpkins. They did everything. They went online and printed faces for everyone and did it all. Brie'el even had two bowls. One for the pumpkin guts and another for the seeds. Yes she did that also. We all love to eat the seeds so this was a huge bonus!!!






Kelsey loves kittys. I found this kit last year for 90% off. You hammer in the pins and stick a light inside. She was able to do this on her own(with a little bit of help from Kilean)





Kilean did a good job....




Brie'el liked her BOO idea. It looks great. Bryce did his all on his own. Good job guys!!!



Now Kyler is another story. If you an believe it he cut out most of the face himself. I was impressed. Then he hammered in some more pegs "for effect" He had the most fun doing this and is very proud of his work of art!!!

Trunk or treat

We always have a lot of fun at Trunk or Treat...

Kelsey loves her Fairy princess costume... She had a great time with Madison.



Kyler could not wait to be Anakin. He loves Star Wars and could tell you all about each and every movie.





I can not tell you how cute Brenlie is in this Dora costume.




Kelsey and Brenlie lovd this fishing game the best. Brenlie could of spent all night playing in the water...






Face painting is always fun.






They had a blast trunk or treating!!!!

The Phoenix zoo

I was asked Saturday if I wanted to go to the zoo. My first reflex was "On a Saturday?" My friend insisted her zoo membership expires that day and it will be fun. Then I stop and think.....Have I been to the zoo with Kelsey or Brenlie? How long has it been? Let's just say I am too embarrassed to answer that!!!!

We spent 3-4 hours at the zoo. It was crowded, but we had a good time. They have added a lot of things since I have been there. I think it is time for me to get a membership again and go more often since the weather is cooling down.


This is the group. I am glad Bryce went. He was a huge help. The zoo is fun at any age!!!




At what age are you too old for slides? The kids had a fun time pushing him down this cactus slide.



Kyler wanted to make sure I took his picture also!!!



Next stop the petting zoo. Brenlie had a blast. She got to brush all the goats. This picture was taken when she first entered the area. Her first word was...."Puppy?" I am not thinking she has seen a goat this close before!!!





This is a funny story.... This larger goat (with no ears) kept pestering this little pygmy goat. It was nonstop. We all stopped to watch this billy goat bully the other one.





This I had to capture. This goat had to get up on the bench just to make a point how much bigger he was compared to the other one. I guess life is no different for the goats than it is for us!!!






The tractors. I am not sure why we spent so much time here but we did. These guys would love to live on a farm.






Did we see any animals?
I want a swing like this in our yard!!!Maybe I need to plant a tree first.



Fun day at the zoo.....thanks guys!!!

Kyler + snakes and lizards = heaven

I have been a parent for 16+ years. My kids have gone to a lot of birthday parties. This one takes the cake. Erin Ray wins with Porter Ray's birthday party. She had a reptile guy come to her house. Kyler has spent the last 3 hours talking about this snake that is around his neck. He told me about everything. More than once. Then he went upstairs to his room , pulled out all of his reptile books and told me about all the amphibians he saw at Porter's party.

This has got to be the coolest idea EVER for a boy!!! Happy Birthday....Your party rocked!!!!

Light the night walk

I am so proud of Kilean. She decided to participate in this walk. We have a player on our team whose father has cancer. He desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. He was told 6 months ago he has 1 year to live. Can you believe that? I at times feel like my life is overwhelming. I am thinking I am pretty lucky. This family's life is upside down. They are waiting for a the right match. If there is anyone out there who knows a male Filipino who would be willing to donate bone marrow.....It is a matter of life and death at this point.

On a brighter note.... here are some pictures of the event!!!!


This is Caitlin and her father



Breanna Kilean and Alexa



This is our Arsenal team




Please add this family in your prayers. They have 3 foster children and 2 children of their own. They are a wonderful family.

Back to school...

I am looking forward to the peace and quiet again. I love my kids. I am glad they are home. I like the help with the little ones. They went to bed late. They got up late. They meaning the big kids. Kyler decided for the entire week of vacation he needed to get up at 6am (ARG)...They needed rides. They made a mess. They argued. Brie'el dyed my hair.(Scary I know!!)We talked. We watched movies. We ate. We baked. We had tea parties. Bryce swam. We had sleepovers. We played games. We had a soccer tournament.


Sounds like fun? Yes it was... I love breaks. But I have not had time to do anything. I am finally caught up with everything I did not do. It's Wednesday night. I need girls night out. Any one interested?



Ooops I almost forgot one more big thing we did. Bryce had a big project due. His topic was Egyptian pyramids. We did well. Good job Bryce!!!!

Things are turning around for this team.....

This is the second tournament in a row where these girls came in 1st. I am so proud of these guys. I spend so much time at the soccer fields. We went for quite awhile not doing so well. Leaving frustated is never a good thing. But all of a sudden things have "clicked". The best part is the whole team did it together. A little bit of confidence goes a long way.

Go Gilbert Arsenal!!!!!

My kids thoughts on Santa Claus.....

I'll start with Kelsey. She writes down everything she wants on TV. Every year it is the same old thing. "Mom, I want that!" "Mom can we buy that?" "Mom Look I wanna buy that" I hear these things all day.

So I started having her write a "list" for Santa.I love the practice she is getting, but I have Santa letters all over the house. Yesterday I see one tucked in between the fish tanks. So, I throw it away. In little time..... I hear a screech.... Mom where is my letter!!!!!!!!!This is where my quick thinking or lack of parenting comes in. ( I lie) "Um.... The letter between the fish tanks?" Keep in mind I know which one she is talking about, I am unsure what I want to say so I am buying time. Then it hits me. " I sent it to Santa" At this point she looks at me and says "Really? When will it get there?" (smart fart) I then respond "soon"

She is fine with it and I am now off the hook for throwing away his letter. One problem.... Now that she thinks he is getting them in the mail, she is handing me a letter all the time. In an envelope of course!!!


Story #2

Kyler out of the blue says "I want a RED PSP for Christmas. I am confused. I remind him he already has a PSP. He tells me it is black and he wants a red one instead. "Kyler I am not going to buy you another PSP. The color should not matter" I am not telling him what he wants to hear. He is now frustrated. "Fine he says. I will not ask you for a PSP. I will ask Santa!!!"

"Cuz if you ask Santa... Its FREE."

Then he looks at me and stares me right into the eyes and says "Right?"

Randy Travis Concert

Last night Frank and I went to see Randy Travis We watched him sing at the Celebrity Theatre I LOVE this venue. First of all it seats 2800 people. So every seat is a good one. Then the stage is circular and it rotates 360 degrees. We sat in row 8 and I was so close!!!!




Tim and Willy were their opening act. They were funny and we enjoyed watching them play. Little did I know they could sing also. I enjoyed listening to them on the radio and were sad to see them replaced.

Randy Travis has an incredible voice. Even if you are not a country fan you can not deny this.I have the most respect for a man that has been married for 32 years and most of his band is originals. I am talking these guys have been together for 20+ years.

I love his songs. They have meaning. They make you think. And they are touching. I gained respect while watching his band interact with the people. They are real people enjoying what they do. You just do not get that much in the entertainment business today!!!!








This guy who plays the drums is amazing.




I do not know if you can see but the guy on the right plays the steel guitar. Amazing Talent!!!




The most amazing this of all is all these pics were taken on a camera phone. I brought my camera but they said no flash. Although no one follow this rule very well I deciced to be a good girl and rely on Frank's phone.

Not too bad I must say....

Desert Ridge Rattlers!!!!

Kilean is on the Desert Ridge Junior High soccer team. It has been hard. Let's just sat this is not a winning team. Kilean gets frustated at the level of play. Yesterday we played South Valley Junior High. This team is good. We lost 8-0 the last time we played them. After the game, the coaches from SVJH talked to our coach.They were impressed with our team and how much we had grown.There is nothing like a compliment from another coach!!!

This time we lost 1-0. The goal that was scored on us was not worthy. It kind of slipped past her, she caught it in goal, then let go of it!!! Darn it!!!

I am so proud of their progress. They have come a long way. Kilean is a leader on the field. She pretty much plays any position on the field and does it well.


Good Job Rattlers........

Peek a Boo!!!

Brenlie is on the stairs. I am working on my banner and I can hear what I think is "peek a boo!!"

I ignore it.. But the sounds gets louder. Is it possible she wants my attention? Have I been avoiding her all day? (The banner is done)



What does a kid gotta do to get some attention over here!!!

Band Concert

Tonight was fun. Keigan and Brie'el had their 1st Desert Ridge High School Band Concert. They played wonderful. There were quite a few solos. I thought they sounded good for their first concert.





I have always been a band junkie. I enjoy music. All kinds of music. Watching kids play truly amaze me. Watching kids play "well" is a better treat.



I love the band director and Desert Ridge. I have seen this group grow over the past 3 years. And I am proud to have my kids part of it!!!!

Soccer banners

I am unsure over the last decade of soccer how many banners I have made. Last year I made 2 banners I believe....This year I have drug my feet a little.The worst part with the banner is bringing it to every game. With my kids in tow I set it up and take it down. Hardly do I ever get help. Plenty of people pull out their popcorn and watch the mother of 7 multitask a banner, chairs,stroller,water bottles,cell phone.....you get the picture.

Last year I said I would do the banner but someone had to "volunteer" to bring it to the games. No one wanted to. I had the banner. But I did not bring it to every game. If I had a conflicting schedule, I left it at home.

I do like making them.Once a year I buy felt and pull out my stencil letters I bought at Michael's,and begin my work. This year I kept it simple.

We are the Shamrocks!!!



It's easy....



It's fun...



and more than likely.... I'll be doing it again next year:)